Or could it be that the Chinese developed an interest in the idea of dragons very early on and Westerners were slow to warm to the concept? Prior to 1607, when Edward Topsell published his History of Four-footed beasts, Londoners had not as yet woken up to the possibilities offered by dragons. It was almost too little - too late for dragons were evil and that's all there was to that as far as most Londoners were concerned.
On the other hand,Chinese dragons possess auspicious power. They were never symbols of denigration as they are in the West or so we have been led to believe. In the later stages of the Qing Dynasty, it was a capital offense for commoners to wear clothes with a dragon symbol. Try telling that to St. George the Dragon Slayer! In China even today, it is a taboo to disfigure a depiction of a dragon. Of the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac, the other eleven range from the wretched rat to the cocksure rooster. The twelfth sign is the only mythological creature. It is considered good luck to be born under the sign in the Year of the Dragon.
So what is this wonderful Chinese dragon supposed to look like? Start with the body of a snake, add the scales of a fish, stick on the antlers of a deer, throw in a couple of pairs of eagles' talons and provide eyes from a mythological Chinese deer and you have the semblance of a Chinese dragon.
Traditionally dragons in China have an affinity for water. We are told that the domain of rivers as well as the sea is part and parcel of the province of dragons. In addition, dragons dominate clouds and are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to heavenly showers.
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